"Watch out for Silent Killing!"
Haku shouted, raising one hand while exhaling a chilling mist from his mouth. The icy vapor merged into the already thickening fog around them.
The cold mist churned as two types of chakra intertwined.
This tactic not only blocked Haku and his team's chakra sensing ability but also prevented Zabuza from using his own sensory techniques.
However, this also meant Haku couldn't capitalize on his Ice Release by manipulating the chakra-infused air Zabuza inhaled for a fatal strike. His abilities were disrupted by Zabuza's Hidden Mist Jutsu.
"Quick reaction," Zabuza's voice echoed faintly through the mist, impossible to pinpoint. "But that won't affect me."
Omoi and the others were on high alert.
Suddenly, a shadow flickered past them.
Omoi, the quickest to react, swung his sword immediately.
Clang!
Sparks flew, but Zabuza's figure vanished in an instant.
"He's fast!"
"What kind of weapon was that just now?" Omoi and Futakami Ryou exclaimed in surprise.
"Good reflexes," Zabuza's voice teased. "But I'll be even faster next time!"
Haku shouted a warning: "Watch out for Water Release!"
Even as he spoke, his hands flew through seals.
Simultaneously, Zabuza formed seals on the lake's surface.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!
Two water dragons erupted almost simultaneously, soaring into the sky before colliding with a thunderous crash.
Boom!
The clash sent torrents of water surging everywhere.
Marusaki Ichi crouched low and slammed his palms to the ground, summoning an earth wall that rose just in time to block the rushing waves.
But just then, a steel wire emerged from the ground, piercing through Futakami Ryou's body with a sickening thud.
"Watch out!"
Omoi slashed at the steel wire with his blade, but Zabuza appeared from the side, delivering a powerful kick.
Thwack!
Caught off guard, Omoi was sent flying, his pained cries echoing as Marusaki Ichi turned to assist, only to find Futakami Ryou already dangling lifelessly from a tree.
"Damn it!"
Marusaki Ichi hardened his skin and charged at Zabuza.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The clash of fists and feet ended quickly, with Marusaki Ichi sent flying, his body bouncing across the lake's surface before sinking.
As Zabuza closed in on Tazuna, Haku intercepted him just in time.
Meanwhile, Marusaki Ichi, struggling to rise from the water, suddenly found himself trapped.
Water Prison Jutsu!
It was another Zabuza, the one who had clashed with Haku earlier using Water Release.
In mere moments, four had been reduced to two.
"One of them must be a water clone," Haku muttered, glancing at the Zabuza on the lake. That one seemed most likely to be the clone.
By now, the mist had begun to dissipate.
Omoi, pulling himself from the ground, surveyed the situation and quickly shouted, "Leave the rescue to me!"
Haku nodded. "I'm counting on you!"
He grabbed Tazuna with one hand, retreating, while his other hand formed seals.
By the time Haku set Tazuna down, his jutsu was ready.
Demonic Ice Mirrors!
A series of ice mirrors encircled Zabuza.
"Mr. Tazuna, stay here and don't move," Haku instructed before vanishing into the mirrors.
Zabuza remained unfazed. "Haku, I'm very familiar with this technique. It won't work on me."
Haku responded calmly, "Zabuza, my strength has grown under my father's guidance."
When speaking in front of outsiders, Haku referred to Shuichi as "Lord Shuichi," but among allies, he addressed him as "Father."
"Oh?" Zabuza chuckled. "Guidance from Lord Shuichi, huh? Let's see what you've got!"
Raising his hand, Zabuza hurled a shuriken that pierced through one of Haku's ice mirrors.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In response, ice needles flew toward Zabuza from behind.
Dodging swiftly, Zabuza found himself under a relentless barrage of ice needles, each strike faster and less predictable than the last.
Even with his skill, Zabuza couldn't avoid every attack. Before long, cuts and gashes marred his body.
"This is the real one," Haku confirmed, launching himself from the ice mirrors under the cover of his attacks. In his hand, a rapidly spinning sphere of chakra took shape.
Rasengan!
Haku struck from behind, his attack aimed directly at Zabuza.
But Zabuza, a master of Silent Killing, reacted with astonishing speed. Even under the high-pressure assault, he spun around and thrust a kunai forward.
Crack!
The kunai collided with the Rasengan, shattering instantly. Haku twisted his hand, causing the Rasengan to expand with a burst of cold air.
Ice Release: Rasengan!
Boom!
Zabuza's body exploded into water, which immediately froze solid.
Substitution Jutsu!
Zabuza emerged from the ground, his hand shooting out to grab Haku by the neck.
But then, Zabuza sensed something was off. Before he could react, the "Haku" he had grabbed dissolved with a splash, transforming into water that coiled around his arm. With a sharp crackling sound, it froze Zabuza solid.
Ice Release: Clone Jutsu!
Though immobilized, Zabuza grinned. "Well done."
The real Haku stepped out of the ice mirrors and calmly pierced Zabuza's neck with an ice needle, granting him a painless death.
Meanwhile, Omoi successfully dealt with Zabuza's water clone and rescued Marusaki Ichi from captivity.
Soon after, Haku freed Futakami Ryou, who had been strung up by steel wires. Though alive, his injuries were severe.
The team took a day to rest and recover before continuing their journey, eventually arriving safely in the Land of Waves.
---
Elsewhere, Kurotsuchi sat in subdued silence after another hard-fought victory.
The two combined teams she led had been reduced to just her and Deidara.
A single elite Jonin from the Cloud Village had inflicted devastating losses on their group.
Deidara, however, seemed unbothered as he glanced at Kurotsuchi and said casually, "Relax, they're not truly dead."
"And as long as we secure a spot in the top 100 rankings, they'll be back for the strongest Chunin tournament."
Kurotsuchi nodded, shaking off her gloom. "Then we must change our strategy going forward."
Deidara smirked. "Are we splitting up, then?"
Kurotsuchi's face darkened immediately. "Deidara, we haven't even completed our mission here!"
Deidara shrugged. "Our points already place us at first and second. Besides, continuing further means we're more likely to encounter elite Cloud ninjas rather than regular Chunin squads."
He added, "Who knows? We might even run into an all-Jonin squad next."
Kurotsuchi was well aware of this.
As a ninja, gauging an opponent's strength through sensory techniques alone was unreliable. Chakra levels didn't always correlate to skill.
And since they had chosen sides, their uniforms had changed, making it impossible to judge affiliations by appearance.
Even the typical four-man Chunin teams could no longer be used as a reliable metric.
Clenching her fists, Kurotsuchi declared, "I've decided. We'll follow other squads and provide support."
Deidara frowned. "Support? That's boring."
"I'd rather launch surprise attacks."
Kurotsuchi shook her head. "If we do that, every squad on our side will turn against us."
"Our strength alone isn't enough to handle the increasing number of elite Cloud ninjas. We need numbers."
"If we want to stop these retreating Cloud ninjas completely, we have to unite more squads on our side."
Deidara's eyes gleamed with interest. "Eliminate everyone, huh?"
"That's an idea I can get behind."
"I already have a perfect plan for this."
Seeing Deidara's newfound enthusiasm, Kurotsuchi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Then, once we've recovered, we'll put our new plan into action!"
---
An hour later.
Fully rested, Kurotsuchi and Deidara set out again.
Their aerial scouting gave them a significant advantage, especially in this barren terrain where even the mountains were bare.
Although neither was a sensory-type ninja, finding their targets wasn't difficult.
In less than half an hour, Deidara spotted a large skirmish on the ground.
"Deidara, you must follow my lead this time. No random explosions," Kurotsuchi cautioned.
Deidara pouted. "They're not random explosions; they're art. Hmph!"
Kurotsuchi chuckled. "Then let's give them a proper demonstration of your explosive art later."
Deidara grinned as his clay bird accelerated.
This time, the two didn't launch a surprise attack from above. Instead, they deliberately revealed themselves to intimidate the combatants below.
As expected, the Cloud ninjas became visibly flustered upon spotting reinforcements for the Stone ninjas in the air.
However, the Stone ninjas were equally distracted.
Many recognized Deidara, the "explosion maniac," from his infamous antics in Iwagakure. His reputation was enough to make even allies wary, knowing full well he wasn't one to hold back, even against his own side.
The battlefield quickly descended into chaos.
Perched on the clay bird, Kurotsuchi had anticipated this reaction.
It was precisely what she wanted.
Amid the confusion, she could intervene effectively.
The hand seals completed, Kurotsuchi opened her mouth and spat out clumps of white lime, which fell from the sky directly toward the Cloud ninjas.
The targeted Cloud ninjas immediately retreated, while the Stone ninjas hesitated, unsure if Kurotsuchi intended to attack indiscriminately. This brief uncertainty prevented them from taking advantage of the moment to pursue the retreating enemy.
Kurotsuchi didn't mind. After spitting out several clumps of lime, she wove more hand seals and unleashed a torrent of water from her mouth, crashing down from above.
The lime on the ground instantly turned into a flowing mudslide, surging toward the Cloud ninjas.
Seeing this, the Stone ninjas gritted their teeth and dove underground. As the Cloud ninjas evaded the muddy flow, the Stone ninjas emerged suddenly, grabbing and dragging them into the earth.
The soil shifted into sand, and amidst the movement, blood seeped out. Moments later, the Stone ninjas reemerged.
Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi and Deidara had already begun targeting the remaining Cloud ninjas, their coordination turning the tide of what had been a deadlocked battle.
Though Explosion Release was countered by Lightning Release, Kurotsuchi's support allowed Deidara's attacks to shine in unexpected ways.
Their aerial assaults were especially oppressive, giving the Cloud ninjas little room to maneuver.
When the pair focused on teamwork instead of stealing kills, they created openings for the ground-based Stone ninjas, forcing the Cloud ninjas to retreat repeatedly and leaving a trail of corpses in their wake.
The battle lasted roughly half an hour and ended with the complete annihilation of the Cloud ninjas.
Although they attempted to flee, they couldn't escape the relentless pursuit of Deidara, Kurotsuchi, and the Stone ninjas. Ultimately, they were hunted down and killed.
The Stone ninjas suffered losses as well, with three dead and almost everyone else injured, except for Kurotsuchi and Deidara.
On the other hand, the Cloud ninjas lost a total of nine members.
As the battle concluded, Kurotsuchi and Deidara descended from the sky.
"Thanks to your help!"
Several Stone-aligned ninjas approached them. Leading the group was Ebisu from the Leaf Village, wearing his signature sunglasses.
Kurotsuchi smiled and replied, "We're all on the same side now, so it's only natural."
A fellow Iwagakure ninja gave her a thumbs-up and grinned. "As expected of the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage and his disciple!"
"Why not join our team?"
Ebisu nodded in agreement. "With you two, we'd have a significant advantage. Even against elite Cloud Jonin, we'd stand a better chance and reduce our casualties."
The proposal was mutual, and Kurotsuchi immediately accepted.
Thus, their team expanded.
Kurotsuchi and Deidara took charge of aerial reconnaissance, surprise attacks, and support, while Ebisu and the others handled ground combat.
The coordination between the two groups improved steadily. Under Kurotsuchi's guidance, they continued to absorb more ninjas from the Stone-aligned forces, swelling their ranks.
---
In the Illusory Task Hall, a futuristic room filled with holographic displays, the status of various Chunin squads was projected on multiple screens.
Shūichi Hoshita, Mei Terumi, Minato Namikaze, and other alliance leaders observed the progress of all teams, analyzing their performance.
Though Shūichi already had a thorough grasp of the situation, the room served to help Minato and the others stay informed.
Ōnoki's tense expression gradually relaxed as he watched his granddaughter and disciple integrate seamlessly into the Stone-aligned forces, playing increasingly critical roles.
He was visibly pleased.
The Fourth Raikage, however, focused on Omoi and his group.
While Omoi and his team performed well, they didn't stand out as much as Kurotsuchi and Deidara.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, on the other hand, monitored the Leaf ninjas, including Ebisu and Iruka—both from the same generation as Shūichi.
However, their performances paled in comparison to Kakashi and others from that era.
This was not unexpected. Among Shūichi's generation, those with exceptional talent had long since become elite Jonin, like the younger Hayate Gekkō.
To Hiruzen's surprise, however, Anko Mitarashi's performance was extraordinary. Her Fire Release techniques were almost a replica of Shūichi's style.
---
Minato Namikaze, despite being the Fourth Hokage, wasn't solely focused on Leaf ninjas.
He kept an eye on notable individuals from all villages, including Haku, Kimimaro, and Suigetsu.
After witnessing Kimimaro's brilliant taijutsu, Minato couldn't help but ask, "Shūichi, is there a way to cure Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai illness?"
Shūichi shook his head. "Not for now. We can only delay the onset of his symptoms."
"Unless… he can further evolve the Shikotsumyaku into Kekkei Tōta, compensating for the genetic flaws."
"Genetic defects are beyond my abilities to fully resolve—unless we resort to forbidden techniques."
Minato instantly understood that Shūichi was referring to methods like Orochimaru's experiments or the body-snatching techniques of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
(End of Chapter)
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